Cover for pneumatic tires.



PATENTED FEB. 25; 1908.

' 0. A. BROPHY. COVER FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

APPLICATION TILED OCT. 20, 1906.

CHARLES BROPHY, OF HINSDALE, ILLINOIS.-

COVER FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

Specification of Letter: Patent.

Patented Feb. 25, 1908.

Application filed October 20 1906. Serial No. 339.748.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. Bhornr, citizen of the United States, residing at Hinsdale, in the county of Dupage and State of'lllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Covers for Pneumatic Tires, of which the following is a full, clear, concisc, and exact description.

My invention relates to a cover for pneumatic tires, and its objects are to provide an endless cover or shield which is of simple construction and easily and cheaply manufacturcd, which is flexible and exceedingly durable, which may be readily and quickly placed upon or removed from the wheel, which will thoroughly protect the wearing face that it covers, which by the mere inflation of the pneumatic tire will be securely and reliably held in place thereon, free from creeping action, and which will provide atread surface of increased e'l'liciency on ordinary roads, as well as prevent or decrease the slipping of the wheels during a sharp turn or upon wet or slippery roads. With the above objects in view, my invention contemplates a flat endless belt or cover, the 'middle portion of which is more loosely woven than the sides thereof, so that when 1e COYCI is placed in position upon a deflated tire, and the tire then inflated, the

cover will lose its 1 lat shape and assume that of the outer periphery of thepneumatic tire. The middle portion being loose. will stretch more than the tightly woven sides of the belt or cover and said belt will become concavoconvex in cross section, snugly fitting the inflated tire. The inflated tire and the threads of the textile cover will become so embedded in each other as will effectively prevent any creeping of the cover on the fire.

1 preferably make the tread. portion of the belt or cover of increased thickness, thereby increasing the durability ofthe same. This increased thickness rcsull s from that feature of my invention which consists in the use of warp threads of larger size .at themiddlc than at the sides of the belt.

A further feature of nrv in ventioii consists of means by which the tread of the cover is rendered non-slippable, said means at the same time adding greatly to the durability of the cover.

These and other features of my invention may be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a side elevation of an automoi not be further set forth.

bile wheel, the tire of which is provided with the cover constituting my invention: Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section of the tire and cover shown in Fig. 1; Fi 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the be t or cover, with parts broken away: Figs. 4 and 5 are sections'on the lines 44 and 55 respectively, of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner of forming the belt or cover.

Similar reference letters indicate the same parts Wherever they are shown.

, The pneumatic tire 1 and the Wheel of the automobile or other vehicle of which it is a part may be of the usual construction. Such tires are as a rule made of standard sizes, and hence my endless belt or cover 2 may also be made of standard sizes, adapted to fit over corresponding tires.

It will be understood that the endless belt 2 is formed from continuous strands 4, 3, '4, formed into parallel longitudinal loops of a length corresponding approximately to the periphery of the tire which it is designed to cover, the ends of the outer convolution being woven transversely back ai'idforth between the intermediate convolutions in the manner of a weft. his method of forming an endless fiat belt is described in United States Letters Patent to Anthon Christensen No. (506,376, dated June 28, 1898, and need However, in my invention, the cords 23 forming the war threads of the middle portion of the belt are not drawn so tightly as the threads 4 forming the warp threads at the sides of the belt. As a result the middle portion of the belt will be woven more loosely and hence will be more elastic than the side portions thereof.

While I have found that a belt woven as above described possesses the required flexibility, and is exceedingly durable, I do not wish to limit my invention to any particular manner of forming the belt so that the middle part of it capable of stretching to a greater degree than the sides thereof.

The flat endless bcl't made in the tanner above described may be readily passed over the deflated tire which it is designed to cover. Upon the inflation of the the greater pressure will be exerted upon the middle portion of the belt, which portion becomes stretched in a manner readily apparent. The side portions of the belt being non-stretchable, said belt will lose its flat shape and will assume that corrcspomling to the outer periphery of tire tread and need "not be previously-mu dered concavdconvex in cross-section.

The cover 2 being preferably formed of coarse threads or cords will present a rough surface, so that the material of the tire will more or less embed itself in the interstices of the fabric, and the cords will likewise embed themselves in the rubber tire, therebyefiectively preventing the cover from creeping on the tire.

The cords 3 at-the middle of the .belt are preferably coarser or thicker than the cords 4 at each side. .[his-struc'tur provides a cover having a thickened tread portion formed in a simple manner," I am aware that thedesirability of such thickened tread portion has been recognized, but, so fal as I am aware, such end has been attained only by making the cover of two or more thicknesses at this portion or by other structures less simple than that of my invention. I am also aware that belts have been woven with thethreads at the sides thereof thicker than those at the middle, in order to produce a belt of con- 'cavo-corivex cross-section. So far as I am informed, hoWever,'I am first to roduce' a belt or cover having such desira le shape and at the same time having the coarser threads in the middle portion ofthe belt.

In order .to increase the durability of the belt and at the same time produce a'more efficient tread surface, I preferably coat the outer surface of-the belt or cover 2 with sand or similar friction producing material, as indicated at 5; Any suitable adhesive for applying the sand to the surface of the belt maybe employed. Such adhesive should be impervious to water. Plastic rubber com pound mixed with sand or other equivalent friction producing material will meet my requirements, and -may be placed upon the surface of the' belt and allowed to soak therein. The mixture may then be set or vulcanized in any well known manner. Such adapted to be stretched, by the inflation of a a coating will, as before stated, add greatly to the durability of the cover. Moreover the sanded surface of the belt presented to the road provides a smooth running tread having a perfect gripping surface. Such a surface will also have suilicient friction with the road to prevent or at least markedly lessen the slipping which is common where the ordinary tire is employed.

While I have shown the tire cover of my invention applied as an outer coveringof a pneumatic tire, I do not limit myself to such particular use of my invention, since other analogous uses will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art.

Having described my invention I claim:

1. In a cover for pneumatic tires, an end-. less llat belt of textile material, having the warp threads in the middle portion thereof drawn less tightly than the warp threads at the sides thereof, said belt being thereby pneumatic tire upon which it is placed, into assuming a shape corresponding to the periphery of that portion of the pneumatic tire which it' covers. I

2. In a cover for pneumatic tires, an endless flat belt of textile material having the warp threads formed into parallel longitudinal loops, each corresponding approximately in length to the circumference of that portion of'the' tire which it is designed to surround, and having the warp threads in the middle drawn less tightly -than the warp threads at the sides of the belt, said belt being thereby adapted to be stretched. by the inflation of a pneumatic tireupon which it is placed, into assuming a shape corresponding to the periphery of that portion of the pneumatic tire which it covers.

In witness whereof, I, hereunto subscribe my name this 18th day of October .A. 1)., lilOfi.

CHARLES A. BROPHY.

Witnesses:

Gnondn E. FOLK, ALFRED ll. Moons. 

